Configure the AlarmApp to require a SHELVE signature

Operators can temporarily shelve selected alarms from the list of an AlarmApp’s active alarms. A shelved alarm is suppressed and removed from the list of active alarms. Typically, operators shelve lower severity nuisance alarms because they provide little diagnostic value and interfere with the operator’s ability to manage a plant process.

An alarm is shelved for a specified period. After the period ends, alarms are automatically unshelved and appear again in the list of active alarms. Operators can also manually unshelve an alarm before the end of the specified shelved period.

By default, Medium and Low severity alarms are enabled for shelving. Critical and High severity alarms are not because of the potential risk of shelving and ignoring alarms that represent serious operating states.

The AlarmApp provides a configuration option to restrict alarm shelving only to operators authorized by application security. When an operator selects one or more alarms and attempts to shelve them, the AlarmApp verifies if a shelve signature is required.

• If no shelve signature is required

  The AlarmApp shows a simple Shelve Comment dialog box with a Duration field to select the number of hours (1, 2, 4, 8, 12) to shelve the alarm and a Reason field to enter a mandatory comment.

• if a shelve signature is required and application security is active

  The AlarmApp shows a Shelve Comment dialog box with fields for the operator to enter user credentials (name, password, domain) in addition to selecting a shelve duration and entering a mandatory comment.

  By default, the logged-in user appears in the Username field. If the application security type is ArchestrA, then ArchestrA appears in the Domain field and cannot be edited. If the credentials are valid, the AlarmApp attempts to shelve the selected alarms.

  The AlarmApp shows an error message if the operator enters invalid credentials. When the operator clicks OK on the error message, the Shelve Comment dialog appears again with the entered user name, comment, and duration. The Password (or PIN) is blank. The operator can attempt to authenticate again or cancel.

To configure the AlarmApp to require a SHELVE signature

1. Select the AlarmApp placed on a pane.

2. Select the Properties grid to show AlarmApp properties.

3. Select the ellipsis button shown at the right of the Configuration field to show the AlarmApp's Configuration dialog box.

4. Select or clear Requires SHELVE Signature based on whether operators need to enter their credentials to shelve alarms or not.

5. Click OK.